Brendon McCullum

The Black Caps are going through a dark phase. They had been classified as the dark horse in quite a few World Cups, but not this time. Cricket in New Zealand has been on a decline for some time and their performance reached a nadir when they were thrashed by Bangladesh in a one-day International series in October last year.

The problem, it seems, lies in a genuine lack of talent. The team, since the departure of the maverick Stephen Fleming, have mostly been a composition of bits and pieces cricketers who have failed to produce consistent performers.

Also, there have been internal problems within the team which have eaten into their confidence.

After the humiliating whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh, New Zealand were humbled by the Indians too. And if you think that the tough subcontinental conditions were too much for the inexperienced New Zealand side to fathom, there was more to come. At home, they were beaten by Pakistan 3-2 in a ODI series, their last series before the World Cup.

With the World Cup being held in the subcontinent, will they face a similar fate? Can they be written off outright?

To a sensible mind, the answer is no. And that’s because of a couple of aged-but-lethal all-rounders, a pair of batsmen who are as dangerous as anybody in the game and a captain who can rally the team around him with inspiring performances.

In Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and of course Daniel Vettori, New Zealand have five warriors who can, if they perform anywhere near their best, make the team go the distance.

Among the five, a lot will depend on McCullum, who has made a name for himself for his destructive skills with the willow. In the subcontinent, more often than not, teams need to score runs aplenty to win matches. McCullum, in whichever position he plays, will be the steering of the team. He can score hundreds with a brutal bat and demoralise opponents in a matter of overs.

He has played in two World Cups — 2003 and 2007 — and has just made 158 runs from 17 matches. With conditions favouring the batsmen, McCullum will enhance his record this time for sure.

Taylor, too, is capable of stitching a gem of an innings. He is a clean-hitter who can play pace and spin with equal ease. The only worry that is there is that he didn’t have the perfect build up to the World Cup .

Oram and Styris are quality all-rounders and have the requisite experience of rescuing the team from trouble.

And then there is Vettori. The best left-arm spinner that cricket has seen in more than a decade, Vettori can choke runs and scalp wickets with ease.

His efficient batting is more than handy as well. And as a captain, he is capable of the most important thing — control over his players.

The appointment of John Wright as the coach has been a silver lining for the Black Caps. Rhythm will be important for Vettori’s team and if they manage to get that, Vettori will be in a better position to say ‘V for Victory’.

THE SQUAD: Daniel Vettori (captain), Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock